The Ring
by ruby-soldiers
Summary: Leonard leaves behind his final goodbyes to Sara with a note, and a ring. *SUPER SPOILERS BRO. If you haven't seen 1X15 I would go watch before reading. One-shot. Captain Canary


**Disclaimer: I don't own DC's Legends of Tomorrow or any of it's characters. I'm not capable of owning that much badass-ery.**

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Carrying Mick back to the ship may have been one of the hardest things she'd ever done. Not because she wasn't capable, although he _was_ heavy, but because she couldn't stand what she was doing. She couldn't stand _leaving him there_. Sara had always known Leonard was a hero, but she didn't want it to be the end of him. She was supposed to be the one who went down in combat. She was the one who was supposed to do the right thing. It should've been her. Why wasn't it her…

She shook her head, as if to clear it. Those thoughts wouldn't get her anywhere. She wanted to forget it all. Push down her feelings into the deepest of chasms and never feel anything ever again. Become unfeeling, unwavering stone. Forget him, and what he did for the team. Forget him and the way he'd made her feel. Forget him, and just how blue his eyes were.

And that's when she realized that trying to forget him was just making her remember him more. Sara also realized that she didn't want to forget him. They'd only known each other for a short time, how long exactly was hard to tell with all of the time travel, but he might've just been one of her favorite people on the team.

Jax was funny, although could be a little immature. Stein was too distracted and hard to understand. Being around Rip was just too depressing and she generally ended up in a sour mood after their conversations. Being Kendra was fun but she always just seemed...searching. Like half of her was missing. Ray was like a walking cliche and it annoyed her.

But with Len, nothing was expected of her. It was just cards and witty remarks with slight hints of flirting. And that's all she ever wanted, so it's what he gave her. Leonard never pushed her, never made her do anything she didn't want, and she appreciated it. Now, even though she was in the same place she'd been for months, she felt lost. Everyone else was still there, but the Waverider felt strangely empty.

She knew he was bad and broken, but so was she. And they were both getting better. They were healing the wounds they had long put on hold. Perhaps a part of her had always hoped they could fix themselves _together_. Because he understood what it was like.

And now he was gone.

She'd been laying in her room, face smashed against the pillows of her bed like a child having a tantrum. The truth was she just wanted it to be dark, and quiet. She'd _wanted_ it to be quiet, but the sounds of her muffled sobs still filled the room. _He was gone_. She would never see him again. Never hear his demeaning chuckle or see the mischievous glint in ice blue eyes. Yes, it was cheesy to say that _he_ of all people had _ice_ blue eyes, but there was simply no better way to describe it. They could be cold and harsh, but always beautiful.

She was startled by a loud thump on her door. She immediately knew who it was. Mick was not like most people, who knocked lightly several times. He would only do a single, solid, hard, smack on the door.

She used all the strength she had left to make her voice ring clear. "Just give me a sec."

She ran to her mirror, using all of the tricks she'd ever learned about how to make it look like you weren't crying. Cold water under her eyes to reduce puffiness, breathing deeply, blinking rapidly to (hopefully) get rid of the redness in her eyes. She felt extremely girly but she was too tired to care.

She walked the few paces it took to reach her door and opened it. Surely enough, it was exactly who she'd expected.

"Lance," he said cooly.

She crossed her arms and leaned against the door frame and tried to look as sassy as usual. "If this is some kind of booty call I'm sure Gideon's got something that can help you with _that_."

His only response was a grunt. He then continued with his initial purpose. "Rip sent me to take care of _his_ things."

"Already?" Sara burst out, forgetting quickly how she wanted to appear. But how could he? It hadn't even been 24 hours!

"He said to 'Do it when you're ready' and I didn't see a point in waiting," Mick grumbled out.

All she managed to say was a small, "Oh."

"Well, I think he had a plan, just like he always did. He left something for you."

That got her attention. "How do you know it's for me?"

Mick was already walking away, but he yelled out the answer without turning around. "He left a note."

Sara's world spun. There _was_ something left of Len. He'd left something for her, a gift. A gift and a note. He had planned his death.

The anger came first. _How could he do this to her?_ He was _planning_ on sacrificing himself and he didn't even have the decency to tell her. To give her a proper goodbye. And why did he have to be the one sacrificing himself anyway? They had all heard that Palmer was going to die. And how could he leave that for her in the first place? Rip hadn't told them about the Oculus until they'd already been captured. He couldn't have known that Ray was going to die.

Many emotions came afterwards: sadness, denial, confusion, more anger.

But curiosity and confusion became the most dominant. She had so many questions, but what if the note didn't answer all of them? It was really a matter of what would torture her more: Never knowing the answers, but knowing that they _could_ possibly be out there, or getting only a few of the answers, but knowing that the rest will be forever unexplained.

She couldn't place when she finally made the decision, probably because she only realized it when she found herself in the hallway, heading towards Leonard's room. She slowed when the door came into view.

Until she realized she'd slowed down to a complete stop. Man, this was getting to her. Her thoughts felt like mud.

She simply stood there, probably awkwardly, although she didn't care. And then she mentally scolded herself for being such a coward. She was supposed to be the brave one. Sara reached out and touched the pad that opened the door.

Even though Mick had told her he'd cleared everything out, she was still startled to find the room barren. Len didn't bring many possessions with him, not that she saw them often with them always being in her room, but she could easily note the differences. It was almost eerie, the way his room felt. While everything had been taken from it, it was still very obviously _lived in_. As if she could expect Leonard to come back from some trip and start unpacking.

But where he was, there was no coming back.

There was nothing in the room at all, besides one single item on Len's nightstand. A piece of paper, carefully folded in half and propped up. It had a single word on it, her name. She'd never actually seen his handwriting before, but she wasn't surprised to find that it was neat and elongated.

With a shaky hand, she reached out and plucked the note off of the table and began to read.

 _Sara:_

 _If you're reading this, I'm dead. I'm hoping that you're not celebrating right now, but you never know. The point is, I had a feeling that one of these days I won't going to come back from one of these missions. I found myself wanting so badly to be able to say goodbye to you, but I know that there isn't always time for that sort of thing. The universe is not a kind mistress._

 _And that's what I hope this note will serve to you. A final goodbye in case one isn't said. And even if it is, I want to give you something to remember me by. Whether you take it or not is up to you._

 _Everytime we leave for a mission, especially the dangerous ones, I'll leave out this note for you. And on the back of this note is where you'll find what I'm entrusting to you._

Sara felt around the back of the paper to surely enough, find what was promised to her. Tucked into a small pouch on the back of the paper, was a ring. Though she'd never actually touched it, the ring was familiar. It was Leonard's, the one he'd always worn on his pinky. He'd tap it against things when he was bored, or thinking. It usually annoyed her, but in that moment she couldn't think of a sound she wanted to hear more.

Though her tears threatened to trail down her face, she continued reading.

 _This ring and I have been together for a very long time. I got it from the first heist Mick and I ever pulled, Freeport warehouse. Now before you go on things I'm some kind of sentimental sap, let me tell you this: it's not a keepsake, it's a reminder. A reminder that even the best plans can go south. I spent three weeks planning for that job, casing the target, memorizing shift changes and delivery schedules but then surprise! Turns out they'd upgraded their security system. All that planning, and all I've got to show for it is this small, silver pinky ring._

 _It reminds me of you sometimes. My plan for coming on this mission was to simply get the job done. Stop Savage and save the world, blah, blah, blah. You were never part of my plan. I didn't imagine anyone on this ship could mean more to me than Mick, my partner. But you, however, you seemed to have wiggled your way into my world. It's been a long time since anyone's sparked my interest, and I don't think that anyone could've done it better than you. There's something special about you, Sara Lance._

 _Some people may look and you and see a killer, a murderer. Some may see only the damage left behind. But I see_ you _. I see all of the hope and potential that you are. I see your elegance, and I see your hard edges. I see all of the complexity that makes you who you are. And that is one of the most amazing people I've ever met._

 _But before you've got me sounding sentimental, just promise me you'll remember something. When you look at this ring I want you to remember the way I see you. I want you to remember your true self. And when you look at this ring I want you to remember how you are the best kind of flaw in people's plans._

 _When you look at this ring, remember that_ you are the unexpected.

 _Goodbye, Sara._

 _Leonard Snart_

By now it was impossible to keep the tears in. They ran down her cheeks like rushing rivers that refused to cease. She wanted to be the person he saw her as, she so wanted to be the unexpected. Closing her eyes, she promised herself that she would achieve that. She was going to be the best version of herself. When she opened her eyes, one of her tears splashed down onto the parchment she held in her hands. Looking where it fell, she found a single line of text that she'd neglected to read before.

 _P.S._

 _If it wasn't obvious, I love you very much._

The small ring was clenched in her fist so hard she would've been surprised if she was bleeding. It took effort, but she eventually relaxed her hand and took the ring between her fingers. She examined it for a moment, it's ridges and edges and the little intricate design that was etched into the face. Lifting up her other hand, she slipped the ring onto her pinky. It was a little loose, but she'd expected that, and she knew she wouldn't have it any other way. When it was loose she was reminded of who it truly belonged to.

The man who she didn't know she loved, until he was gone.

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 **Hope you enjoyed this little oneshot. I know, I really should attend to my continuous stories instead of writing several Captain Canary oneshots, but hey. I can't help it when I'm inspired. Anyhoo, I love you all, many or few.**


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